The ways of going viral are obscure and infinite— and sometimes as simple as revealing what your go-to drink of choice is. So if you’re wondering where exactly all this Internet enthusiasm for a Negroni sbagliato comes from, let me enlighten you with a deep dive into the Internet’s most recent favorite clip courtesy of the House of the Dragon cast and, more specifically, the magnificent Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Three weeks ago, the HBO Max YouTube channel posted a video featuring Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy, who play older Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen respectively in Game of Thrones’s prequel series House of the Dragon.
The video is your usual ‘get to know me’ content, where they both ask each other questions about their opinions on the show, the world of Westeros at large, and their tastes. The whole five-minute interview has been cut into bite-sized clips that have also posted on TikTok and other social media, and that’s where the bit of Olivia Cooke asking Emma D’Arcy what their favorite drink was absolutely exploded— no Dracarys needed.
Turns out that Emma D’Arcy’s go-to order at the bar is a “Negroni, sbagliato— with prosecco in it.” And it seems like the entire Internet is agreeing with Olivia Cooke’s response of “Oh, stunning.” Is it Emma D’Arcy’s voice? Is it the inherent charm of such a chic drink order? Is it the fact that the Internet is just generally always very thirsty? We may never know, but pretty much everyone is now obsessed— especially if they’re part of the LGBTQ+ community. Speaking from very personal experience here.
If you’re wondering what exactly a Negroni sbagliato is, then it’s exactly what the name suggests: a “wrong” Negroni. The Negroni is an Italian cocktail that surfaced at the beginning of the XXth century in Florence, taking its name from the customer who ordered it, Pascal Olivier Count de Negroni. The typical Negroni is made of one part gin, one part red vermouth, and one part Campari, served with an orange peel.
A Negroni sbagliato—usually known just as “a sbagliato,” take from your friendly local Italian aka me—switches out the gin part with sparkling white wine or Prosecco, just like Emma D’Arcy helpfully clarifies. Hence the nickname of it being “wrong.”
The original clip from the interview currently stands at 12 million views on HBO Max’s TikTok page, while endless reposts and stitches are spreading throughout the Internet— so it seems like this obsession for Negroni sbagliato isn’t going away anytime soon.
(image: HBO Max)
